Page 20 - 2020 December 2 Bonhams Arts of Devotion bronzes and Stone carvings

1009
A SILVER AND COPPER INLAID COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF
BUDDHA SHAKYAMUNI
TIBET, 13TH CENTURY
Himalayan Art Resources item no.16879
31.8 cm (12 1/2 in.) high

HKD600,000 - 800,000

西藏 十三世紀 錯銀錯紅銅釋迦牟尼銅像

This early Tibetan bronze depicts Shakyamuni Buddha in peaceful serenity at the
moment of achieving enlightenment. Of superior quality, its elegant fingertips are
inlaid with copper—in addition to the more customary applications within the lips
and robe hems—and the Buddha has an exceptionally handsome face.

The bronze survives with a lustrous patina from a formative period in Tibetan art
when artists drew on existing Indian styles to produce bronzes for growing Tibetan
monasteries. This period, between the 11th and 13th centuries, is known as the
Second Transmission of Buddhism to Tibet. Generations of Tibetans gathered
Indian devotional texts, paintings, and sculpture, seeking a “purer” form of
Buddhism from the religion’s geographical origin. Having many features that are
faithful to the original, and some deviations, this sculpture is an excellent example
of the Pala style of Northeastern India as it was adapted in Tibet.

Aspects of the Pala style exhibited by the bronze include the broad lotus petals
around the base, the light, form-fitting robe, and the spiky, “snailshell” curls
throughout the hair, which are particularly evocative of bronzes from Nalanda
Monastery (cf. Ray, Eastern Indian Bronzes, Bombay, 1986, no.91a). The figure’s
attenuated waist is normally considered a Tibetan deviation from the Pala style,
but it also happens to be a stylistic feature of Nalanda bronzes, though Nalanda
bronzes proceed early Tibetan bronzes by several centuries. A good example of
a Pala bronze that was brought to Tibet and forms a stylistic basis for the present
lot is a small 12th-century Buddha in the Red Palace, Lhasa, which has an Indian
inscription (von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Vol.I, Hong Kong, 2001,
p.264, no.84A). However, when comparing its lotus petals, while the general, broad
shape is similar, the particular rendering of plump, almost heart-shaped petals
emanating symmetrically from the center in the present example is best considered
an idiom of this new Tibetan style than a simple reproduction of a Pala model.

Sometimes a small hem is shown draped over the Buddha’s left shoulder, forming
another commonly cited feature that connects Pala and early Tibetan sculpture.
But, it is not always present in either, as exhibited by the present bronze and
a group of early Tibetan bronze Tathagathas from Nyethang Monastery (von
Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Vol.II, Hong Kong, 2001, pp.1162-5,
nos.308A-E & 309A-C). A particularly good point of comparison for the present
bronze is in the Jokhang, Lhasa (ibid., p.1173, no.313C). It is of a similar scale
and does not portray the hem over the left shoulder either. Moreover, it has a
comparable base distinguished by two beaded rims appearing above the lotus
petals. Another smaller example also with these features is published in von
Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p.187, no.37D.

Provenance
Ex-Private French Collection

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